Shower Wall Hanger

ABSTRACT

A hanger designed to fit over the top of a glass shower panel the hanger having a clip that grips the glass firmly and prevents rocking, a shank extending close to the shower wall and a hook for holding a towel or other bath accessory.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to hangers, and more particularly provides a system for supporting a towel or bath accessory from a glass shower wall panel.

2. Description of the Related Art

Prior art usually consists of a hanger that rests over a shower curtain bar or shower wall and is easily removed. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,712 “Towel holder for shower enclosures.” A towel holder of this type used on a glass wall panel would not grip the glass panel and because of this would rattle and potentially lift up and off the glass panel when a towel was removed from it or it was accidentally bumped by the shower occupant. In addition these types of hangers do not lie close to the glass and as a result take up valuable space inside a shower, and increase the likelihood of being bumped and knocked off the shower wall by the shower occupant. The present invention is designed to grip the glass panel firmly, resist rocking, and fit close to the shower wall to alleviate the issues previously mentioned.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is a hanger that is designed to attach to a glass shower wall to provide a convenient place to hang a towel, brush or other bath accessory. Many showers today are built with walls of glass panels of various thicknesses. These panels are often times held in place by metal tabs on the sides of the panel that allow the top of the glass panel to be free of any supports or other structural members. The hanger is designed to fit over the top of such a glass panel in such a way that it grips the glass firmly and is seated so as to prevent rocking back and forth and rattling, and to reduce the chance that it can come off the glass easily when a towel is removed from it. In addition the invention fits fairly closely to the glass shower wall so that it is not likely to be bumped by the shower occupant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a front view of the hanger as it would look attached to the shower panel

FIG. 2 is a side view of the hanger

FIG. 3 is a view of the back of the hanger

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The hanger is constructed such that the top of the hanger comprises a clip, and the inside edge of the top of the clip, shown in FIG. 2B, is larger than the wall panel thickness and the inside edge of the bottom of the clip, shown in FIG. 2C, is smaller than the wall thickness, which allows the clip to slip down over the wall with a little force but allows the bottom of the clip to grip the wall to stabilize the hook while the top edge the clip rests on the top of the shower wall which helps keep the hanger from rocking back and forth on the shower panel. The shower wall hanger is normally placed over a shower wall panel so that the clip, as seen in FIG. 2D, fits over and down onto the wall.

The lower part of the hanger includes a hook for holding a towel which is the result of a bend in the lower part of the hanger as seen in FIG. 2E, which results in the towel hook lip extending upward. The hook has a curved end as seen in FIG. 1A.

The hook includes a shank which lies close to the shower wall and connects the clip to the hook as seen in FIG. 3F.

The present shower wall hanger may be formed from a rigid or semi-rigid material, such as plastic or metal which can be coated to match bathroom accessory finishes. Such materials are impervious to water, humidity, and elevated temperatures, as are common in a bathroom environment, thus providing a long service life. 

1. A shower wall hanger adapted to be mounted over an upper edge of a glass shower wall, said hanger comprising a clip means forming a U shaped opening which is designed to fit over and seat on the top edge of the glass wall and to grip the glass wall firmly by clip means opening being larger than the glass wall thickness at the top of the clip means, and smaller than the thickness of the glass at the bottom of the clip means, a shank portion connected to said clip means designed to lie close to the shower wall, clip means also designed to prevent rocking back and forth on top edge of glass by clip means being wider than the shank portion, and a hook means connected to said shank portion having a U shaped configuration for holding a bath accessory or towel.
 2. (canceled)
 3. A hanger as claimed in claim 1 in which said hanger is formed from an elastomeric material. 